What is a Service Animal and who Qualifies to Have One?

A service animal is a dog individually trained to perform specific tasks for a person with a

disability. Service animals are considered working animals rather than pets. Their work may include guiding a person who is blind, alerting a person who is deaf to important sounds, retrieving objects for someone with limited mobility, detecting an approaching seizure, reminding a person to take medication, or responding to a panic attack in a trained manner. A person may qualify to use a service animal when they have a physical or mental disability and the dog is trained to perform a task directly related to that disability. Qualifying conditions may include epilepsy, diabetes, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe anxiety, visual or hearing impairments, and mobility limitations. The condition must substantially limit one or more major life activities.

Service animals are different from emotional-support animals. An emotional-support animal provides comfort through its presence but is not trained to perform a particular disability-related task. For example, a dog trained to recognize the beginning of a panic attack and take a specific action may qualify as a service animal. A dog that provides comfort only through companionship is considered an emotional-support animal instead.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs are not required to have an official certificate, identification card, or special vest. Professional training is also not required because a person with a disability may train their own service dog. What matters is that the handler has a qualifying disability and the dog has been trained to perform a specific task that assists with that disability.